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Letters Patent No. 74,667, dated February 18, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT in WATER-WHEELS.

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To ALL. WHoM rr MAY coNEnN:

Beit known that'I, BENJAMIN D. COMPTON, of Dowagiac, in the county ofCass, and in the Stat-e ot' Michigan, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Water-I'Vheels; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a. full, clear,.and exact description thereof', referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters of referencemarked thereon.'

In the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, Arepresents a large horizontal wheel orV disk, surrounding and securelyattached to thc hub a of the shaft B, and provided .with ribs bradiating from a common centre. B represents a vertical shaft providedwith hubs or collars, a a', near its ybottom and top, and' with gudgeonsor journals at each end, C represents a smaller wheel, attached to theshaft B by the ribs or spokescradiating fromY the hub a. D D representtriangnlanshaped movable buckets, hinged to the ribs b, and having theirouter corners bevelled to provide an opening, that the force of tbewater may raise the saaie, and are designed to open and shut as thewater presses:v the front or back sidesrespectively. d d represent`metallic rods or braces, running lfrom th'e`large wheel to thewheel C,securely bracing both wheels, a'nd at' the same time providing a. restfor the buckets D D, to keep them from being carried over too far by theforce of the water against the face thereof. The buckets are'fustcneddown, and the wheel thereby stopped, by means of the button fr, which isreadily turned on or oit' by the `rodf, provided with a handle, o, or byany suitable device. The upper surface of the disk A is cut away nearits periphery to correspond with the bevel on the lower side of thcbuckets D D, therebyv making the cavities E E.

By adjusting this wheel in the current of any stream to a depthcorresponding to the width of the buckets D D, the force of. `the waterin the cavities E E, whichV are toward or fronting the current, throwsthe buckets -D D open until they Vrest against=the braces ctrl, and thebuckets D D retain a perpendicular position until they Varecarriedaround past the direct lineof the current, vhen the force of thecurrent bears on the back side of.

the buckets D D, and closes or shuts them down where they are heldby thepress'ure of the water until carried around, so that the cavity E isagain in the face of the current of the stream. It will be readily seenthat,

when the wheel is in motion, one-half of the buckets will be open andthe other half shut, or rather allthe buckets on one side of the wheelwill be open and those on thc-other `side shut. i

Having thus fully described my invention, wh'at I claim as new, anddesire to-secure by Letters Patent, ius- 1. The disk A, having arseriesot' triangular or V-shaped hinged buckets, D, and secured to a. disk, C,

around a. vertical shaft, B, by the braces del, in the mannersubstantially as 'anrd fofr the purposes specified.

2. In combination with the hinged buckets and disk A, bevelled asdescribed, thc latchf, constructed as specified, and used as and for thepurposes sc't'forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set myhand","th'is 26th day of November, 1867.

BENJAMIN D. COMPTON.

Witnessesz Geo. W. Formica, GEORGE MILLER.

